Smoked Baby Back Ribs

These smoked baby back ribs are tender and finger licking yummylicious!

My husband bought a new smoker and we have been enjoying it to the max! It's only been 2 months since we bought it and we have been entertaining non-stop and showing off our cooking skills. If you are thinking of buying one, Master Built is the one to get!

After trying out different home made rub recipes (wet and dry), I think the dry one is the best to use for smoking meat. I finally made use of all the dried herbs I bought and some actually were given to me as gifts. I just started mixing whatever I have in the pantry (got some ideas from other bloggers and the show Grill Master) and added some surprises. 

I hosted a BBQ lunch for one of my girlfriends' birthday this past weekend and they loved the ribs I smoked. I paired 3 racks with grilled vegetables (Red Okras, Purple Cauliflower, White Eggplants and Yellow/Green Zucchinis) and some heirloom tomato salad.

Start grilling and enjoy the rest of the summer!

3 Full Rack of Ribs

DRY RUB INGREDIENTS:

6 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp sea salt
4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 Tbsp garlic powder
4 tbsp cayenne pepper
4 tbsp dried oregano

4 tbsp dried cumin

4 tbsp dried celery seeds

Instructions
Mix salt, brown sugar and spices together. Set aside
Turn spare ribs back side up and remove membrane.
Sprinkle half the seasoning mix all over the top of the ribs and gently rub or press the mix into the meat so that it adheres well. Place the meat in a plastic bag or container and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. The longer time in the fridge, the more the seasonings penetrate the meat, which will result in more flavorful meat!

Preheat your smoker to 225-230F and start the smoke going.
Place ribs in the smoker and smoke for about 5-5.5 hours. At this point the ribs should be close to being ready. Take the ribs out, generously brush with BBQ sauce and smoke for additional 30-40 minutes or serve without the BBQ sauce and give your guests a variety of sauces to choose from. 

Boiled Corn With Mayo, Pepper Flakes & Oregano

My new favorite way to enjoy the corn on the cob this summer!!!

I've been so busy at work and spending too much time on social media, I have neglected my food blog! I hosted a BBQ lunch for one of my BFFs last weekend and she asked me why I haven't posted in a while but she keeps seeing my delicious and beautiful posting of food I prepare everyday on FB and Instagram. Well, I should get busy!!

Corn on the cob is ONE food I must have a lot of! I can live with just corn every day. There's so many ways to eat corn. I've been seeing a lot of dressed up corn lately on Instagram, I decided to make my own this week. I bought 10 ears of corn (5 for $2) from Safeway and cooked half of them today. As usual, I looked inside my pantry and just grabbed whatever I have to dress the corn. I also picked some fresh oregano from my herb garden.

The corn turned up SO GOOD - SO SWEET - SO BEAUTIFUL - SO YUMMY!

Ingredients:

5 ears of corn, husks removed
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Boil corn cobs on stove top and cook for 30 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine mayo, butter, oregano, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Spread the butter over the corn cobs.

Pork Chops with Sweet And Sour Glaze

You can have this tasty pork chops in less than 20 minutes!

Honestly, these are the easiest pork chops you will ever have to make in just 20 min from start to finish. The sweet and sour balsamic glaze is very tasty. You’ll seriously want to guzzle it down. But be sure to save some for the pork chops because they are an absolute match made in heaven.

INGREDIENTS:
6-7 pork chops, bone-in, 1/2-inch thick
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

FOR THE SWEET AND SOUR GLAZE:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons honey
4 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried or fresh basil


INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Season pork chops with salt and pepper, to taste.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add pork chops and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.

To make the sweet and sour glaze, combine balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, oregano, basil, in a small saucepan over medium heat; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
Serve pork chops immediately with sweet and sour glaze.

Roasted Curry Cauliflower Steaks

I love cauliflower raw or cooked. I enjoy it in salads, soup, stew, stir fry, saute etc.  I came across a recipe on FoodNetwork that looked and sounded really good but I was more enticed with the photo of the cauliflower cut like a steak! It was actually my first time seeing it sliced like that.

The cauliflowers were on sale today at 99 Ranch and I bought 2 heads. I have a couple of other recipes in mind that I will share and post later.

INGREDIENTS & PREPARATION:

1 head cauliflower

1 tablespoon dried safflower

1 tablespoon lemon grass powder

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablesoon Himalayan Pink Salt or any regular salt

Extra virgin olive oil

Mix all the dry spices in a bowl. Trim the base of the core from the cauliflower, and then cut the head into 1-inch-thick slices. Cut any florets that fall off into 1-inch pieces and set aside for cooking another dish later.

Arrange the floret steaks on a flat baking pan. Drizzle each florets with the olive oil. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of the mixed spices over both sides of each floret.

Preheat oven to Roast/Bake 350 degrees F. Roast the cauliflower steaks for 25 minutes. Serve warm by themselves or as a side to your favorite meat.

Butter Garlic Steamed Prawns (Cantonese Style)

I stopped by 99 Ranch today after work to buy fruits and as usual, I bought many other items that caught my eyes. I passed by the fresh seafood section and the live shrimps were on sale!!!! I immediately thought of making the dish I had at my favorite Chinese restaurant (R&G Lounge). I bought 3 lbs of these babies and I couldn't wait to go home and prepare the dinner. I also bought 2 heads of cauliflower to pair with the shrimps as a side dish which I will post as well separately.

This classic Cantonese steamed shrimp with garlic and butter dish takes a little bit of work - mostly for slicing each shrimp in half - butterfly style. The rewarding taste of fresh shrimp in rich garlic steamed to perfection is well worth it! The shrimps are sweet and tender.

I also made this dish a while back. You can check out the same recipe here

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 2-3

2 lbs live Shrimp (butterflied)

1 large fresh garlic bulb (finely minced)

1 stick butter

In a small pan, melt the butter and stir the garlic in it for about 1 minute. Do not let the garlic turn brown. Turn off the heat

Rinse the shrimps thorougly. Split the shrimps in half by cutting them from the back meat side. Make sure that your knife is really sharp otherwise, the shrimps will be mushed. Arrange the shrimps in a round pie platter or large plate.

Heat the wok or steamer or a large pan and add water. Put a bowl upside down in the middle of the wok. Put the plate of shrimp on top of the upside down plate and make sure its evenly in the middle just to make sure that the plate is not submerged in the water. Sprinkle the melted butter and garlic all over the shrimps. Cover and steam for about 8 minutes or until the shrimps have turned bright pink. 

Enjoy with rice and a veggie side. Or serve as an appetizer.

Cumin Sweet White Corn and Kale

Tonight, I decided to make something different for dinner. I wanted to experiment and use some of the spices that I haven't used in a while. I'm so motivated to cook again every night so on my way home while stuck in traffic, my chef brain was bring creative. I immediately thought of the 2 frozen veggies I have in the freezer. Of course, I always know what I have in my freezer/fridge ahead of time.

This side dish was paired with butter fried cajun spiced breast of chicken. It turned out to be a nice simple dinner. The cumin seeds went very well with the corn and kale. Yummylicious and easy breezy to make!!!

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 3

3 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 cup frozen white sweet corn

1 cup frozen chopped kale

salt and pepper to taste

Heat medium frying pan and add sesame oil (don't let it burn). Add cumin and saute for 1 minute. Add kale and corn and stir well. Cover, turn down heat and cook and steam for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with your favorite meat.

Manila Clams & Basil Soup

If you love clams, you will love this soup. It is quite delicious and so easy to make. Make sure you get fresh clams from the Asian supermarket because I prefer those than the frozen or canned ones. Its usually served with rice or bread but I like it by itself (less carb).

I was craving for a good soup since the weather has been cold in the bay area. I did not want the usual rice porridge or chicken noodle soup! So I stopped by my favorite Asian supermarket - 99 Ranch and while I had my eyes on the Dungeness crabs and mussels to make my soup, I decided to buy the manila clams. They were as fresh as you can get them because they were still moving in the water!

Of course, I also bought a couple of the crabs since they are still in season and I devoured those the following day. You can say I love all kinds of shellfish and I don't mind eating them everyday. I just need to make sure I don't overdose myself LOL. Well, enjoy this recipe as much as I enjoy it each time I make it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb fresh manila clams

1 thumb size ginger root thinly sliced

6 minced fresh garlic cloves

1 diced large tomato

1 bunch fresh basil leaves

3-4 chopped bok choy

2 cups of water

2 teaspoon oil

salt & pepper to taste

Use a large pot. On medium heat, saute ginger and garlic until medium brown. Add clams and stir thoroughly until the ginger and garlic covers the clams. Cover pot and steam for about 5 minutes until clams open. Add diced tomato and 2 cups of hot water and bring to boil and let all clams open more. Add the basil and bokchoy, salt and pepper to taste. Bring back to boil and turn off heat. Enjoy!

Homemade Doughnuts / Beignets

Here is a very simple way to make homemade doughnuts. It's a basic recipe from Pillsbury's website and it takes less than 15 minutes to make these yummies! The time I made these, I was amazed on how fast and easy it took! I've made them for the family for breakfast and have served them as a dessert when I entertained friends at home for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients:
1 tube Pillsbury Grands
2 cups of oil for frying

-Take dough individually out of the tube and gently pat them down to even rounds and even thickness
-cut a hole in the middle. I used the mouth of champagne glass
-save the dough holes to make beignets
-fry the shaped dough in the hot oil (in medium heat to avoid burning) and flip at least 3 times while browning with a thong or a pair of chopsticks, take out and dry out on a plate with paper towel or a wire rack and let them cool for 1 to 2 minutes before dipping or glazing them with the ingredients below
- do the same with donut holes
- dip the donuts with any of the following:

- white sugar

- unsweetened cocoa powder

- whipped cream and sprinkle with candy

- powdered sugar

- or drizzle with melted peanut butter or Trader Joe's Speculoos Cookie Butter
- serve beignets with melted warm chocolate or jam

Avocado Omelette

I love eggs anytime of the day, breakfast, lunch or dinner. I usually boil 2 eggs in the morning and take them with me to the office and eat them with my cup of coffee. On the weekends, I usually make an omelette or have 2 over easy with a toast and a fruit. Omelettes are so easy to make. You can put anything on it and make it a full meal. I like my omelette simple and tasty, I think that when you put more than 5 ingredients in it, it becomes overwhelming! 

Here is my take on simple and tasty omelette. This is also a healthy omelette because it only has 2 main ingredients and is less than 500 calories! 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large eggs (78 calories each x 2 = 156 calories)

1 large avocado (pitted and sliced) (234 calories)

grated cheese (optional)
a pinch of salt & pepper

Instructions:

In a small bowl, beat eggs together well. Place a 7 inch nonstick pan over high heat. When pan is hot, add butter. Swirl butter around to coat. Let butter foam, but don’t let it turn brown. Add egg mixture. Let eggs sizzle, wait 5 seconds, then top eggs with avocado. Move pan left and right, shifting the eggs around to even, then let them settle for about 15 -20 seconds. When the top is almost cook, flip half of the omelette to one side and roll it out onto the plate. Garnish with your favorite grated cheese, hot sauce and salt and pepper.

Mango and Chicken Salad

Here is another healthy salad to start your New Years' Resolution of "Eat Right-Be Healthy".

Ingredients for 1 serving

1 whole Romaine lettuce
1 small pitted ripe mango
1 Persian cucumber
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 lb pan grilled breast of chicken
Black pepper to taste

Season chicken with your own favorite seasoning and pan grill with 1 tablespoon of butter until its no longer pink and looks done. Chopped all other ingredients and mix in a bowl. Drizzle the EVOO and balsamic vinegar in the bowl and add black pepper. Slice the chicken and put on top of salad. Enjoy!

Watermelon, Avocado and Green Bean Salad

It's the start of the new year and we all look for ways to shed those extra pounds we gained after eating all the yummy high calorie food during the holidays. Here is one of my favorite salad that I make at the office for lunch and I usually make enough for 4 people and I share it with my team. I have modified the amount of ingredients below to serve 2 people. This salad is very filling and it has nuts for protein intake. Their mix of omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and fiber will help you feel full and suppress your appetite and keep you full until dinner time.

Ingredients:

1 cup blanched fresh green beans (you can also microwave for 3 minutes inside a bowl with 1/4 cup of water)

1 cup fresh cut watermelon (cut in cubes)

1 whole avocado (remove seed and cut up in cubes)

1/2 cup sweet bell pepper (minis or regular sliced in strips)

2 cups fresh arugula

1/4 cup unsalted or salted cashew nuts (almonds, pistachios etc)

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

pinch of salt and black pepper

Enjoy! Make sure to check out my other salad recipes!

Turkey Sausage and Egg Piroshki

I'm always looking for creative ways to make something special for breakfast. I usually start with checking my pantry or fridge if there are items I can make with. I made these Piroshkis a while back and I have not had a chance to blog about them yet so here it is!

This recipe is a quick take from one of the recipe's on Pillsbury website. I just used my own ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 can (8oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
2 eggs scrambled and cooked (set aside about 2 tablespoon of the uncooked egg)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 Hillshire Farm Turkey Smoked Sausage (sliced in cubes)

Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, whisk eggs and cook scramble of 2 minutes and set aside. Slice the turkey sausage and set aside in a separate bowl

Separate dough into 4 rectangle (not triangle). 2 pieces should be intact and not separated. Place 1 tablespoon of scrambled egg, 1 tablespoon of sausage and 1 tablespoon of cheese on the dough.

Roll the dough slowly while keeping the ingredients inside. Brush the top of each roll with the set aside uncooked egg. Arrange the rolls on a greased cookie baking pan at least 2 inches apart.

Bake 16 to 19 minutes until golden brown.

Extra Crispy Fried Chicken Wings

While shopping for groceries and mason jars for a project I was determined to do today, I saw the 10 lbs party chicken wings on sale at Smart and Final. It has been a while since I cooked some of these party staple. They also reminded me of one of my sister-in-law who loves fried chicken wings especially if they are cooked by yours truly! I remember when she used to come over the house and drop off my nephew to play with my son, she will always make a point to ask me to make some for her. 

After I got home, I decided to cook some and use the same 4 simple ingredients I have used in the past to not lose the flavor of the chicken - salt, pepper, chili pepper and flour.  These wings will be a good pair with your favorite salad or with your favorite beverage while watching football, basketball or whatever sport in season you watch. They are also be a good party appetizer if you have the time to make them.

Below are the simple ingredients and steps:

25 pieces of chicken wings
2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground red chili pepper
1 brown paper bag
2-3 cups vegetable oil



Wash the frozen chicken wings with luke warm water to thaw them a little bit.








Pat them dry. Mix all the dry ingredients inside the brown paper bag. Coat the wings by putting 5 at a time inside the bag, close tight and shake until fully coated.







Heat a deep pan with oil and set to medium high. Use a metal thong and slowly put the wings in the hot oil. Don't overcrowd the pan so that you have room to flip them over. Cook each side for 10 mins and or until golden brown.

Take the wings out of the hot oil one by one and let the oil drip from each wing on a plate with paper towel. Transfer them to another plate and serve with barbecue sauce or Shiracha if you want them spicy.

Speculoos French Toast

Speculoos French Toast

It's been a looooooooong time since my last post! A lot of people have been asking me why I stopped sharing my recipes. I'll just blame it on a couple of reason - laziness and not having a fast computer. However, I have been posting some photos on Instagram and Facebook. Thanks to my loving husband, he got me a new Macbook for Christmas! I am now motivated more than ever!!

Here's a new post to end 2013 before you start your 2014 diet LOL

French toast is a favorite breakfast or brunch dish and it’s so easy to make. The breads you can use are endless (french bread, sourdough bread, Texas toast, etc.) and you can get as creative as you like with toppings such as the new craze SPECULOOS Cookie Butter from Trader Joe's. This cookie butter is now very popular in Asia and there's even some news of shortage in the US a few months ago. I got very curious so I went to my local Trader Joe's and I was told that the craze is not evident here in the Bay Area because most Californians are health freak. I ended up buying 2 dozens and sent them to my relatives in the Philippines to enjoy. I kept a few bottles and I am now a big fan! I use it as topping on french toast as shown here and or on home made cupcakes and beignets. Super yummy!

Give your Aunt Jemima syrup bottle a break and try melted Speculoos instead with your french toast.

Here is a basic recipe for french toast:

Ingredients:

 2 eggs
4 tbs milk
1 teaspoon corn starch (for crunchiness)
6 slices maple Texas toast bread (thick slices) or regular bread
6 tbs butter (1 tbs for each slice)
2 tablespoon melted Speculoos for topping
Powdered Sugar

Directions: 

Heat a pan or griddle at medium to high heat. Mix together the eggs, cornstarch and milk with a fork or whisk then pour into a dish that’s large enough to dip a piece of bread into without having to fold it, an 8×8 inch baking dish is ideal. Dip one slice of the bread into the egg and milk mixture on one side then flip and dip the other side. Letting the bread soak in the milk and egg mixture for a few seconds will help the mixture soak right through the entire piece of bread but be careful it doesn’t get too soggy so that it falls apart when trying to cook it. Add a tablespoon of butter to the grill to melt, then place the dipped slice of bread onto the pan. Cook the first side of bread for about 3 minutes or when the bread is golden brown, then flip and cook the other side for approximately the same amount of time. You can cook more than one piece at a time but don’t allow the pieces of bread to touch each other.Once cooked serve the french toast immediately or keep in a warmed oven until ready to serve. 

Melt Speculoos in a small bowl for 45 seconds in the microwave and drizzle on top of the toasts. Sprinkle powdered sugar and ENJOY!